


Meeting Yamato

by Awkturtlewriter



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29290410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awkturtlewriter/pseuds/Awkturtlewriter
Summary: Ace introduces his brothers to a friend from his history class.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Meeting Yamato

No alarm clock could ever be more effective than Luffy’s stomach. This was proven correct on yet another morning when Luffy was awoken by the growling of his stomach at the respectable time of 8 am. He groaned as he rolled out of bed, not caring to catch himself as he fell flat on the floor. In fact, he might have stayed there if his stomach had not continued whining about how empty it was. 

Luffy groggily pushed himself up and shuffled out of his room to the living space he shared with his brothers. Turning right, he made his way over to the fridge, where he started taking out Chinese food to microwave. After heating up his meal, he sat down on the stool by the island table and began to chomp down. 

The door to Sabo’s room opened just as Luffy was finishing his meal, revealing a yawning Sabo in simple blue pajamas. 

“Morning, Luffy,” he greeted whilst looking at the leftovers that said brother was munching on. Sabo allowed a somewhat exasperated smile to grace his lips. “Wasting no time to dig in, huh? Well, when you finish, help me tidy up the place.”

Somewhat confused, Luffy gulped down the meat that had been in his cheeks. “Huh? Cleaning? Why? It’s not spring cleaning… right?”

To make sure that he did not mix up his dates, Luffy looked over to the calendar hanging above the sink and sighed in relief. Meanwhile, Sabo chuckled.

“No, it’s not spring cleaning. But we’re having company over today, remember?” Sabo reminded Luffy. “Ace’s friend, Yamato, will be here at noon.”

“WHAT?” Luffy exclaimed, eyes bulging from their sockets at the realization. “That’s TODAY? But today is Saturday! He should be coming over tomorrow!”

Once again, Luffy’s head desperately whipped back over to the calendar, only to despair when it was confirmed to be Sunday and not Saturday.

Sabo walked over to Luffy and clapped him on the back. “C’mon, little bro. Our place is a mess. Let’s at least get the living room presentable.”

Always the responsible one, Sabo began picking up some of the dirty clothes that had been strewn recklessly on the floor. A pouting Luffy followed in his example, and with the two of them working together, they mentioned to clear away any extraneous clothes, textbooks, silverware and garbage in the living room. They then proceeded to finish getting dressed just as the doorbell rang. 

Luffy and Sabo opened the door, and standing in front of them was Ace and who they assumed was his friend, Yamato. 

Luffy’s first impression of Yamato was that he was tall, more than a head taller than Ace himself. His long hair was tied back into a ponytail, and he wore a leather jacket over a white shirt. He exuded nervousness, but excitement, and Luffy thought to himself: he liked this new friend of his brother’s.

Ace closed the door behind them once they entered and initiated the introductions.

“So guys, this is Yamato. He’s a friend of mine from my history class. Yamato, these are my brothers, Luffy and Sabo.” He gestured at the respective brothers as he referred to them.

Sabo extended his hand out first, joining with Yamato’s hand to shake it firmly. “Nice to finally meet you. Ace has been telling us about you for a while.”

A smirk slid on Yamato’s face at these words.

“Really? Like what?” 

“Like the fact that if it wasn’t for your notes, I’d be failing this class,” Ace chimed in, playfully shoving Yamato while doing so. 

Yamato laughed in response. “Maybe you wouldn’t have to worry about failing the class if you stayed awake the whole time.”

“Hey! I can’t choose when I fall asleep sometimes, sue me!” 

Their banter had everyone laughing, as they all were aware of how Ace’s narcolepsy frequently interfered with some of the simpler tasks in life like taking notes in history class. 

“Hey,” Luffy interrupted, “are you any good at Smash?”

A fire blazed in Yamato’s eyes. “Yeah, of course! I main Bowser. Why, is that a challenge?”

Luffy trotted over to turn on their TV and speedily started to gather the controls. “Of course! I want to see how good you are!”

Sabo and Ace shared a knowing look. Their brother had been playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl for quite some time, specifically practicing with Kirby, and Luffy had become proficient enough to defeat Ace and Sabo at their mains. While both were unfamiliar with Yamato’s experience with the game, they knew that whatever happened, it was going to be intense. 

They all settled down on the couch with Yamato and Luffy in the middle and Ace and Sabo on their respective sides. The stock was set to 3 lives, and after the two confirmed their picks, the round began. 

The tension was palpable, as the two were equally matched. Luffy leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his eyes not leaving the screen. Yamato, while seemingly lax, was stiff; the only body parts that were moving were his fingers as they speedily danced across the buttons. Even as spectators, Sabo and Ace did little to break the silence that encompassed them. 

At last, the stalemate broke. Yamato’s Bowser grabbed Luffy’s Kirby and body slammed both of them off the screen. Because Kirby was below Bowser, Yamato got the win. 

“YES!” He yelled, arms up in victory. “I WIN!”

“One more match!” Luffy exclaimed. “I’ll beat you this time!”

“Fine,” Yamato accepted. And so, they entered yet another match, one that Luffy  _ did  _ win once Kirby transformed into a stone that sent Bowser flying off.

“One more time!” Yamato demanded. “We need a tiebreaker!”

Luffy grinned cockily. “Okay!”

With that, the final round began with Luffy and Yamato remaining equally matched throughout. Both had unbreakable concentration throughout the match. Eventually, the two were on their final lives, and Sabo and Ace watched as the damage count for both slowly but surely rose from 0% to 30% and higher until it came to its climax. Kirby and Bowser were in the red, and one solid hit could take out either fighter, despite Bowser’s natural advantage as a heavy type against Kirby. 

That advantage worked in Yamato’s favor, as one side kick from Bowser blasted Kirby off the stage. 

Luffy and Yamato both leaned back into the couch and released a breath of air. Sabo and Ace chuckled in response and wondered if the two had remembered to breathe properly during their match. 

“G-good game,” Yamato complimented.

“Yeah, you’re a lot better than I thought,” Luffy exhaled.

At that, Yamato turned his head to look at Luffy, whose head also rotated to look at him. It remained silent for a moment before the two erupted into laughter. They seemed to come to their own kind of understanding.

“Let’s play some more and have Ace and Sabo join us this time,” Luffy suggested.

“Are you sure? Aren’t you guys tired yet?” Sabo asked.

“Not even close!” Luffy and Yamato exclaimed in unison as if a flame had suddenly been rekindled. 

With a sigh, Sabo grabbed the other controllers, passing one along to Ace. The two were added into the game, and they immediately went for their own mains with Ace choosing Mario and Sabo going for Meta Knight. 

The boys proceeded to play Smash for the subsequent several hours until it began to get dark and their bellies moaned with hunger. They paused to take a break to order a few pizza pies, some with just cheese, some with spicy chicken and some with extra meat. Once the order was placed, they simply sat and enjoyed each other’s presence until the food came.

Luffy pounced upon the food, inhaling his extra-meat pizza slices quicker than one would believe was humanly possible. Ace and Sabo began eating almost as fast, knowing full well that Luffy would start stealing food from their plates once he was done. Meanwhile, Yamato ate the slowest as he munched on a spicy chicken pizza and quietly observed the obvious camaraderie between the three brothers. 

He could not help but wonder what it was like to live in a household where each person’s presence was so clearly and wholeheartedly appreciated. Even in a situation like this, Luffy’s inconsiderate nature in regards to food was taken in stride by all in present company; Yamato, while rebellious, would never receive such unconditional acceptance from his father.

They all continued to feed with the first to tap out being Ace, who fell asleep in his food but was readjusted to lay back in his seat with his face devoid of pizza. Next was Luffy, who inhaled everything that was not already on someone’s plate and more, going into a food coma in his seat. That left Sabo and Yamato still awake and calmed with the two enjoying a cup of tea. 

“When your brother told me to be prepared for an exciting day, I definitely wasn’t expecting this,” Yamato admitted. “Honestly though? This was way better than I thought. I had a really fun time.”

Sabo smiled at this confession. “Happy to have you here. I think I can speak for my brothers when I say we also had a fun time.”

As if in agreement, Ace and Luffy unanimously snored especially loud, causing Sabo and Yamato to stifle their chuckles at the sound.

Sabo sighed and seemed to hesitate before speaking. 

“You know, I’m really glad you came. Not just because you’re a cool person, but also because I was a little worried about Ace.”

Yet again, Sabo paused, but continued his stream of thoughts. “The only people I’ve seen him with since he’s been at college have been his fraternity brothers. They love him like family, and I know he feels the same way about them. I guess I was worried he wouldn’t open up to anyone else after meeting them.”

Surprise morphed onto Yamato’s face that transformed to thoughtfulness. 

“Hm… I guess my first impression of him  _ was _ a typical frat boy. But,” Yamato added, “He also did his best to pay attention and take notes, even though the teacher himself makes it boring as hell.”

Yamato held his head in his hand and looked over to the sleeping Ace. “Even though he randomly fell asleep while he was doing so. That’s why a couple weeks into the semester, I sat next to him. I did what I could to poke him awake, but taking notes was easier than trying to wake him up. I guess he was grateful because he invited me out to drink one weekend, and that was how we became friends.”

Yamato shifted his head to look over at Sabo with a somewhat sad smile. “Ace is very lucky to have people like you in his life. I hope he appreciates that.”

Sabo, while not familiar with Yamato, became somewhat concerned at these words, but decided not to ask about it. However, Yamato noticed the change in his demeanor.

“I can see the question in your eyes. My dad is shit, and his love is conditional. That’s why I said what I said,” Yamato bitterly clarified.

Suddenly, Sabo’s face darkened, and Yamato thought he said something out of line. Maybe he should not have opened up that quickly that fast; he just met Ace’s brothers after all.

But then, Sabo responded with an answer that surprised Yamato. 

“I know the feeling. My parents were the same: if you’re the perfect child, the one that they want you to be, they’ll give you the world. But if not….” He trailed off, but Yamato understood perfectly. 

They were more alike than he initially thought, and the two remained silent in their connection.

This was quickly interrupted when Luffy snored so loud that he woke himself up from his rest. 

“Huh? What’d I miss?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to further awaken himself. Looking over at Sabo and Yamato, he felt a pressure in their shared space. While Luffy was not sure why that pressure was there, he quickly became determined to get rid of it.

He got out of the chair and went over to Yamato and Sabo, where he then proceeded to squish the two in a crushing hug. 

“Having you over was fun, Yamato! You have to make sure to come by more often!” Luffy demanded.

Yamato laughed and agreed as long as he was welcome.

Satisfied with this answer, Luffy yelled, “Ace! Wake up!”

At the sound of his brother’s voice, Ace jolted awake, slightly delirious from his restful sleep. His eyes stumbled upon Luffy squishing Sabo and Yamato in his arms, and a confused expression molds itself onto his features. 

“Get in here!” Luffy whined. “It won’t be the same without you.”

With that, Ace smiled and made his way over to the three boys, extending his arms as far as he could to hold them all close to his chest. 

They all stayed that way until Luffy spoke.

“Hey, Yamato. You’re staying here tonight, right?”

Yamato, startled at the offer, hesitated to answer. Never the patient one, Luffy continued to speak.

“It’s late, and you’re probably tired. You should stay over tonight, and then leave tomorrow after breakfast,” Luffy insisted.

He was not wrong either. It was late, and Yamato was tuckered out by the energetic events that had unfolded that day. Sabo and Ace did not seem to object to Luffy’s demand, either, so Yamato decided to accept.

“Sure. Where can I sleep?” Yamato questioned.

At the acceptance, Luffy let out a “Ya-hoo!” and released them all from his grasp. Immediately, he ran into his room and returned with a bundle of pillows and blankets from his own bed. He threw those into the living room and repeated the process with Sabo and Ace’s rooms, all while Yamato, Ace and Sabo watched perplexedly. 

Finishing his task, Luffy stood by the pile proudly and looked over to his family.

“Well? Are you guys going to help?” Luffy asked.

Ace picked up what Luffy was putting down and started moving the couch to the wall. Sabo got it next and began settling the pillows and blankets neatly on the floor. Yamato simply observed and wondered what the boys were up to until they were almost finished. 

They rearranged the space so that they could all sleep together on the floor of the living room in the space that the couch usually occupied. 

Yamato was touched; he never met such fiercely loving, thoughtful people like them before. 

“Thanks so much, guys.”

“Yeah, of course. You’re our friend, after all,” Luffy replied.

They all settled into their makeshift beds and swiftly fell asleep together. Initially, they all shared a dream: one where Ace died, Sabo was thought to be dead, and Yamato and Luffy were enemies. Unconsciously, they each reached out an arm to one another. 

It was only then that they truly rested.

**Author's Note:**

> I kept thinking about what it would be like if these boys met (even if only in a different life), so I decided to write about it! Enjoy!


End file.
